Strikers Too Strong In Decider

Strikers Too Strong In Decider

04 February 2018

The Hobart Hurricanes have not been able to cap off an impressive BBL|07 campaign with a maiden title, going down to the Adelaide Strikers by 25 runs at Adelaide Oval.

The Hurricanes, playing in their first final since BBL|03, were met with an on-song Adelaide Strikers side who batted, bowled and fielded well, with some brave batting by the Hurricanes proving to be no match for the individual brilliance of Strikers' opener Jake Weatherald.

The Strikers, in their first final, were powered to an imposing total of 2/202 by Weatherald's breathtaking knock of 115 off just 70 deliveries- the highest ever total in a Big Bash final, and the third highest score in the tournament's history.

The Strikers made the most of winning the toss by electing to bat on a good batting surface, with Weatherald first partnering with Alex Carey for a quick 41-run stand at the top of the innings before going on to add a further 140 runs for the second wicket with captain Travis Head, who made 44 off 29.

Despite their best efforts, the Hurricanes bowling attack struggled to curtail the influence of Weatherald, with his wicket not falling until George Bailey took a catch off the bowling of Dan Christian in the 19th over.

Christian finished with 1-38 from his four overs, while Tom Rogers was the most economical of the Hurricanes, finishing with 0-30 from his four overs.

Some costly mistakes in the field exacerbated the Hurricanes troubles in finding a breakthrough, with the Strikers total of 202 the highest recorded in a BBL final.

The Hurricanes batted bravely in pursuit of such an imposing total, and despite losing Tim Paine in the opening over for 5, still managed to score at a quick rate throughout the powerplay, sitting at 0/60 after six.

George Bailey looked to be striking the ball as well as he had all tournament, crunching two fours and two sixes on his way to a 33-ball knock of 46.

Bailey and D'Arcy Short threatened to replicate the huge second-wicket stand of Weatherald and Head, putting on an 81-run stand, but when Bailey holed out to Jake Lehmann on the boundary rope to hand Peter Siddle his first wicket in the 11th over, the Hurricanes slipped to 2/87.

Short, who had struck the ball well, went on to explode with the bat thereafter, however, hammering six boundaries and two sixes in a scintillating innings of 68 off 44, that included a four and consecutive sixes in the 16th over, bowled by Colin Ingram. This innings saw Short make his fifth 50+ score in a BBL season making him just the second player to reach this milestone (behind Shaun Marsh).

WATCH: Short continues red-hot form in BBL Final

Siddle proved to be the hero with the ball for the Strikers, however, trapping Ben McDermott with a controversial LBW call in the 15th over, before dismissing a red-hot D'Arcy Short in the 17th, handing all of the momentum back the Strikers' way. Spinner Liam O'Connor was also influential, finishing with the tidy figures of 0-27 from his four.

Some late hitting from Dan Christian (29 from 19) and Simon Milenko (9 from 7) ensured the Hurricanes didn't go down without a fight, but by the time Ben Laughlin had the ball in his hand for the final over, the result had already been decided.

BBL|07 was an impressive campaign for the Hurricanes, with the side's best cricket simply irresistible to watch.

After finishing second-last in BBL|06, the Hurricanes had few backers for the tournament, but through some dynamic batting, spearheaded by player of the tournament D'Arcy Short and Ben McDermott, and the mercurial efforts of Jofra Archer with the ball, the side rocketed up the table, and finished the tournament as runners-up.

The final certainly didn't go to plan, but BBL|07 has provided a significant launchpad for the Hurricanes moving forward, with a BBL final appearance and the player of the tournament making the season one full of highlights.